Category Archives: Assignment 5: Photography is simple

Assignment 5 – Rework Reflection

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So I’ve finished the course!!

I received my final report from Clive, and it said ‘completed‘!!  It feels like a real milestone. read the report here

Debra Flynn. Brighton Day Out #3, 2018

Of course I do still need to tidy up a few bits and pieces on the blog and get it ready for assessment, but I am really pleased that the first course is under my belt.  I am definitely feeling more confident about my progress and my abilities so I hope to hold on to that to take into the next course.

The final assignment has taught me quite a lot in terms of putting together a series or images.  Clive really helped me hone in on what I should be focusing on and it’s amazing what a difference it makes when you look through your images with a different intention.  In fact he encouraged me to see that I already had all of the images I needed to meet the brief, I just hadn’t focused on the right area.

See my Assignment 5 – Photography is Simple (Reworked) here

I am much happier with my reworked assignment and the discovery of Tony Ray-Jones work was a revelation for me.

So off to complete all the loose ends and prepare for the submission for assessment in November . . . . . .  . .

Assignment 5 – Photography is simple (reworked)

Brighton Day Out:  A sky view

(click on any image to see full screen gallery)

click here to view black and white versions of the images

click here to view contact sheets

The brief

Take a series of 10 photographs of any subject of your own choosing. Each photograph must be a unique view of the same subject; in other words, it must contain some ‘new information’ rather than repeat the information of the previous image. Pay attention to the order of the series;  here should be a clear sense of development through the sequence.

In your assignment notes explore why you chose this particular subject by answering the question ‘What is it about?’ 

 

“There are two fundamentals in all picture taking – where to stand and when to release the shutter … so photography is very simple.”                 (Jay & Hurn, 2001, p.37)

 

‘What is it about?’

In the late 1960s, early 1970s, Tony Ray-Jones toured English seaside resorts documenting the quirkiness of English culture, which, according to the quote below, he thought was disappearing. 

“My aim is to communicate something of the spirit and the mentality of the English, their habits and their way of life,  the ironies that exist in the way they do things, partly through their traditions and partly through the nature of their environment and their mentality. For me there is something very special about the English ‘way of life’ and I wish to record it from my particular point of view before it becomes Americanized and disappears”

Source: http://shooterfiles.com/2016/01/master-profiles-tony-ray-jones/

He is considered to be one of the original street photographers and brought a style of photography to the UK that hadn’t been seen before.  His images documented social anthropology in an often multi-layered complex way that could be both nostalgic and humorous. Click here to read my review of Tony Ray-Jones work.

As soon as I discovered Ray-Jones’ work, I felt an immediate connection with my own work and felt inspired to create a set of images that echoed his ‘Day Off: An English Journal’ set.  As I live on the South Coast of England not far from Brighton where many of his images were taken it seemed like 50 years on it would be interesting to revisit the subject.

I have visited the British Airways i360 on two separate occasions, once for a sunset flight and once on what turned out to be hottest and sunniest day of the year (2018).  I have used these to observe and document how people use their time off and, (returning to my earlier work in assignment one), how they occupy a space.  What struck me more than anything was the juxtaposition of people having paid to take this ‘flight’ in order to experience a unique view of the city, they then spending much of the time looking at their mobile phones, or taking selfies with their backs to it.  This was particularly noticeable on the sunset flight when the sky was the most amazing colour.  I’m not sure we’ve become ‘Americanized’ as Ray-Jones feared, more that we have become ‘technolised’!.                                                                                            (295 words)

Click on the links below to see:

Bibliography

Ray-Jones, T. (1974). A Day Off: An English Journal (First ed.). London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.

Walker, F. D. (2016, January 25). Master Profiles: Tony Ray-Jones. Retrieved from shooterfiles.com: http://shooterfiles.com/2016/01/master-profiles-tony-ray-jones/

Assessment criteria: Context

click here to see exercise 5.2 on context

Assignment 5 – ‘Hangout’

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Having submitted my final assignment, I was finally able to talk with Clive (my tutor) face to face.  Work commitments have meant I’ve only had written feedback up until now so it I felt it was really important to actually speak with him this time and I’m really pleased I was able to.  Certainly a learning point for future courses; to speak with my tutors more often.

Clive had looked at my assignment and my blog and gave me some great feedback. 

He felt that I need to get away from the ‘day out with my kids’ theme and try and put some distance between myself and subject to give them a more observational and dispassionate feel. More of a comment on what a family does on a day out rather than this particular family.

He suggested I take a look at the work of Tony Ray-Jones as he felt my work was somewhat reminiscent of his and Martin Parr, although Martin Parr is a little less flattering of his subjects. Having now done so, I totally get what he means.  My write up Tony Ray-Jones can be read here.

On the individual images Clive felt that image #1 was weak and very ‘postcardy’ which I completely agreed with him on.  I had included this image to try and set the scene, but to be honest it doesn’t inspire me so why I thought it would anyone else is a silly.  I only have 10 images to make an impact and I chose that one!!!! 

he picked out image #2 as interesting and #9 as a good ‘stock’ shot but not adding much to this project.He thought #7 was a strong image.  Having looked again at that and Tony Ray-Jone’s work I think I understand what I should be looking for now.

I suggested redoing the whole assignment, which Clive thought was a possibility but also that having looked at the contact sheets there may be enough, with some re-editing to refocus this set of images.  Having had another look through, I do think this is a possibility so am going to try that first. Especially with the inspiration from Ray-Jones and Parr I think I have the basis of what could be an interesting study.

In relation to my blog, Clive advised to change my banner photo to something more appropriate to work I have been producing as he felt that it might give the wrong impression of the kind of photographer I am to an assessor.  I have taken that advice and changed it.

I was reminded about buying a clam shell box, which I’ve already done and about printing my images ready for assessment, making sure to leave a decent sized boarder on the sheet.

Thanks again Clive, it was great to talk with you

My actions from this:

  • look up Tony Ray-Jones’ work and relate it to my own
  • rework my assignment from a more observational and dispassionate viewpoint
  • let Clive know when I’ve redone it so he can give feedback
  • start preparing my work for assessment in November

back to Assignment 5 – Photography is simple (reworked)

 

Assignment 5 – Self Reflection before feedback

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Reflection

“Check your work against the assessment criteria for this course before you send it to your tutor. Make some notes in our learning log about how well you believe your work
meets each criterion.”

For this final assignment of Expressing your vision I have returned to my first love of documenting my family on a day out in Brighton.

I knew I was going to use this for this assignment, so I was more conscious of the images I was taking and am lucky that they are so used to seeing me with a camera in my hand that they largely ignore it!  Unlike my last assignment where I was able to go back and start again because I wasn’t happy with the results, this time it was a ‘one day only’ opportunity – so No pressure!! 

Technically, I have often struggled with taking picture of people moving in the past but since finding the auto ISO setting on my camera, I am now able to reduce blurring so am much more confident in that respect.

Having taken over 200 photos, my biggest challenge was whittling it down to just 10 photos.  Unlike other assignments where I ‘made’ the images and could take what I need for the project this was more about selecting 10 images that work individually, together and tell the story. To do this I set myself some strict criteria, each image must contain either a member of my family or myself (in some way).  It must add new information as per the brief and it must be compositionally pleasing.  I also wanted them to work together as a set and tell the story of the day.

Needless to say there were a number of permutations considered until I came up with my final 10. So I tried to imagine what it would look like as a magazine article and picked images that I thought would go enhance the story.  It meant having to leave out some images which I really liked, but I guess that’s what this assignment is about.  The ability to express your viewpoint for a subject within a limited number of images giving more impact and greater context to them.

mock up of what a magazine article might look like

Ultimately I am pleased with the results and the images I have chosen.  I do believe they are a coherent set which tell the story I wanted to tell and meet the criterion of the brief.  This section more than any other has made me think about how I select and present my work.  

and just to prove I was there on the i360 here’s a picture of me taken by my husband. A rare event indeed 😉

Ralph Flynn. The Day Trip, 2018

back to Assignment 5 – Photography is simple

Assignment 5 – Photography is simple

This Assignment has been reworked to see Final Version click here

The Day Trip

click here to view contact sheets

The brief

Take a series of 10 photographs of any subject of your own choosing. Each photograph must be a unique view of the same subject; in other words, it must contain some ‘new information’ rather than repeat the information of the previous image. Pay attention to the order of the series;  here should be a clear sense of development through the sequence.

In your assignment notes explore why you chose this particular subject by answering the question ‘What is it about?’ 

 

“There are two fundamentals in all picture taking – where to stand and when to release the shutter … so photography is very simple.”                 (Jay & Hurn, 2001, p.37)

 

‘What is it about?’

Simply; these images are about me, my photography and what I love!  They are personal and yet explore the concept of photography never being in the control of just the photographer.  In each image I am there, either physically reflected in the glass or metaphorically in the depiction of my flesh and blood. 

The things I love in my photography are people, light, motion and emotion, probably the reason I love shooting weddings, events and wildlife.  This day trip to celebrate my grandson’s 7th birthday, seemed like the perfect opportunity to put all of those together.  Rather than just a series of ‘holiday snaps’ I really wanted to capture the essence of the day and tell a story, without it feeling posed. 

In this series, I have tried to set the scene, show the activity including decisive moments and say something about the people depicted. Having been shot on one of the sunniest and hottest days of the year, in order to keep the exposure right, the images were taken in manual mode with a high shutter speed and auto ISO, with an aperture around f/5.6.  Although black and white is often used to give a more documentary feel, I have kept the images in colour because the brightness and colour of the day are definitely part of the story.

This project is very much of the moment, as on no other day would the people, light or situation come together in this way.  I like that.  I get a buzz out of capturing lives as they happen, especially those I have a personal connection with.  I am much more conscious now that my images are my view and my vision but I know only too well the importance of documenting those you love for the future and am pleased that I am developing the skills and knowledge to achieve that.                                                                                                                                      ( 315 words)

My reflections about this assignment can be read here Assignment 5 – self reflectiont

to read my reworked Assignment click here

Assessment criteria: Context

click here to see exercise 5.2 on context